STAR Voting Rules

Score Then Automatic Runoff

How to Vote

  1. Score each candidate from 0 to 5 stars (5 = best, 0 = worst)
  2. You may give equal scores to multiple candidates
  3. You may leave candidates unscored — this counts as 0

How Winners Are Determined

Round 1 — Scoring

All scores for each candidate are added up. The two highest-scoring candidates advance to the runoff.

Round 2 — Automatic Runoff

Each ballot is compared between the two finalists. Whichever finalist you scored higher gets your preference. The finalist preferred by more voters wins.

Tie-Breaking Protocol

Scoring Round Ties

  1. Head-to-head: the candidate preferred by more voters advances
  2. Compare 5-star ratings; if still tied, compare 4-star, then 3, 2, 1
  3. If all tiebreakers are exhausted: TRUE TIE — a new runoff is required

Runoff Round Ties

  1. Higher total score from Round 1 wins
  2. Compare 5-star ratings; if still tied, compare 4-star, then 3, 2, 1
  3. If all tiebreakers are exhausted: TRUE TIE — a new runoff is required

Voter Participation Metrics

Each election reports:

  • Registered voters — total eligible
  • Ballots cast — with turnout percentage
  • Valid ballots — voters who scored at least one candidate above 0
  • Null votes — voters who scored all candidates 0

High null vote percentages or low turnout may indicate dissatisfaction with all candidates, insufficient candidate selection, or potential legitimacy concerns, and may justify another election cycle.

Tabulation Timing

Vote counting occurs only after polls close. This aligns with standard electoral practice and prevents real-time manipulation, voter influence from partial results, and tabulation errors.

Abstention Tracking

Per-candidate abstentions show how many voters scored that candidate 0 or left them unscored, revealing which candidates failed to earn voter engagement.

No Random Tie-Breaking

All ties are resolved using numerical data from the ballots. Random selection — coin flips or otherwise — is never used. If all numerical tiebreakers are exhausted, the result is a TRUE TIE, and a new election between the tied candidates is required. This ensures every result is deterministic and fully justified by voter preferences.

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